Fishing lure



y 1952 w. H. l RlCKARD 2,597,035

FISHING LURE Filed April 17, 1948 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 F l G. INVENTOR.

4 William H. Rickard BY V ATTORNEY y 0 1952 w. H. RICKARD 2,597,035

FISHING LURE Filed April 17, 1948 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 I, III/I IIIIIIIIIIII7/IIIIII INVENTOR. William H. Rickard BY /%4%95%w@ ATTOR EY Patented May 20, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT QFFECE FISHING LURE William H. Rickard, Denver, Colo.

Application April 17, 1948, Serial No. 21,681

' 1 Claim. (01. 43-42.41

My invention relates to fishing lures and has as an important object the provision of an integral hook guard adapted to hold gang hooks on the fishing lure when not in use in a position .to prevent accidental engagement of the hooks with the fingers or clothing of the user, or with other hooks; prevents hooks from becoming dull when not in use; but which does not interfere with the action of the bait.

. Another'important object of my invention is the provision of an improved and'effective fish lure which may incorporate my hook guard and which is formed in such manner as to reduce the possibilities of fouling or snagging the hooks on the bottom of a stream or lake when in'use.

Other objects include the provision of a lure of the type described provided with a removable streamer, and which may be inexpensively produced from conventional materials.

With the foregoing objects outlined and with other objects in view as will appear more fully as the description proceeds, my invention resides in the novel features hereinafter described in detail and in the accompanying drawings, and more particularly pointed out in the appended claim. In the accompanying drawings wherein several embodiments of my invention are shown:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of one form of the improved fishing device, showing the hooks in folded inoperative position;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of Fig. 1, in which the hooks are shown in dotted lines in ex- Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a further modification of the invention;

Fig. 9 is a detail sectional view of the device shown in Fig. 8; and

Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 9, employing only two hooks instead of the three hook arrangetachably engaged with tongues [9a struck outment shown in Fig. 9.

Referring to Fig. 1, I provide a spoon [2 of suitable sheet material, such as copper, brass, or

steel protected from corrosion as by plating which is generally concave and which tapers inwardly w from the free or trailing end toward an aperture 36 to which a snap swivel l3 or the like may be secured. The opposite or trailing extremity of the spoon I2 is provided with another aperture 31 in which a ring 15 may be inserted. A twin gang hook l1, having shanks l6 secured to each other as by welding near the end opposite the hooks is provided with a suitable loop or attachment to the ring I5. The hook I! is preferably made of resilient material, such as spring steel. As shown 2 in full lines in Figs. 1 and 2, the curved portions of the hook I! are so disposed as to position their points IS in the concave surface of the trailing end portions of the spoon I2 when the hooks are folded on the ring 15 inwardly towards the aperture 36. When swung outwardly to the outward position as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 2, the points l8 project upwardly facing in the same direction as the concave portion of the spoon [2. Since the spoon I2 is concave at or near its maxiv mum width, it may be seen that the center of gravity of the spoon is such that hooks I! will be held with the points 18 upwardly, thereby decreasing the tendency of the hooks to foul or snag when the lure is drawn along or near the bottom of a lake or stream.

The spoon I2 is provided with struck out portions [9 projecting upwardly and inwardly from the concave portion of the spoon forming tongues spaced apart a distance approximately equal to or somewhat less than the distance between the points I8. Since the gang hooks I! are of resilient metal, it is possible to move the ends l8 of the points together a distance sufficient to enable them to be slipped under the tongues I9. When the pressure exerted by the fingers on the hooks I1 is released, the points [8 spring outwardly into engagement with the tongues I9 and are thereby retained firmly in inoperative position under the tongues. When so retained, it may be seen that the points of the hooks can not accidentally engage the fingers, the clothing, or other hooks, thus permitting several baits to be carried in a common container, such as a pocket.

In the modification of my invention illustrated in Figs 3 and 4, the spoon lZa is of substantially the same form as the spoon 12, but in place of utilizing a single double gang hook, this modification utilizes a pair of oppositely facing double gang hooks designated lBa and lBb, both secured to the spoon l2a by a suitable ring l5a. The

hooks Mia and lfib are preferably, although not necessarily, of different lengths and are arranged in the position shown by dotted lines in Fig. 4 when in operation. When folded inwardly to inoperative position, the hooks Ilia. may be dewardly from the concave surface of the spoon lZa, while hooks lBb, which are swung in reverse direction are retained under a second pair of spaced tongues [91) struck outwardly from the convex surface of the spoon 2a.

The form of invention shown in Figs. 5 and 6 includes a spoon I20 having a reverse curvature and providing spaced concave areas 20 and 2| at the opposite extremities of the spoon and facing in opposite directions. A length of wire 22 is attached at one end through an aperture 23 formed in the free or trailing end of the spoon I20 and extends longitudinally along the spoon, being crimped at the leading end to project through a plurality of longitudinally spaced apertures 24 in the leading end of the spoon. The crimped portions 24 of the wire 22 projecting through. the apertures 24 form eyes to which a snap swivel I3 may be secured, thus holding the wire 2'! in position along the spoon. The end of the wire 22 projecting through the aperture 23 is looped upon itself and extends through the shank I60 of the double gang hook, having points I80 facing upwardly in the same direction as the trailing concave portion 20 as shown in'Figs. 6. and 7.

The points I80 of the hooks may be engaged, as previously described, with tongues I90 struck out from the concave section 28 of the spoon l2c.

A streamer assembly 28 of colored feathers or hair is wound at one end with a length of wire which forms a loop 21 through which the wire 22 projects, the end portions of the wire projecting through a longitudinal slot 28 in spoon I20. respect to the slot on the side of the spoon IZcopposite the streamer 21 to lock the streamer in position.

If the lure is to be moved rapidly through the water or used in rapidly movingwater, the swivel I3 is attached to the forward eye 25, since in this position movement of the lure is relatively less than will be obtained when the swivel I3 is attached to the eye 25 lying further towards the trailing end of the lure. Detaching the swivel I3 permits the wire 22 to be drawn upwardly from the the apertures 24, thus permitting removal of the streamer 28 by twisting the streamer until the ends 29 of the wire are in alignment with the slot 28.

Since the widest portion of the spoon I20 lies near the concave portion 20, it will be seen that the center of gravity is on the side of the spoon opposite the points I8c of the hooks I6c. This, plus the guiding effect of the streamer 26, makes it virtually impossible to draw the lure through the water in other than the position shown in Figs. 6 and 7 with the hooks. pointed upwardly, regardless of how the lure happens to strike the water. This characteristic of my lure makes it possible to drag the lure on or near the bottom of the 'body of water where fish are more frequently found without the same degree of danger of snagging or fouling the hook as will be occasioned with more conventional lures. The spoon and streamer, however, wobble and move from side to side as the bait is drawn through the water in a manner tantalizing to fish and has the additional characteristic of maintaining in its movement through the water substantially the depth to which it is allowed to sink before being. drawn The form of my invention shown in Fig. 7 is substantially the same as that illustrated and described in Figs. and 6, except that the loop 21d on the streamer 26d extends only around the wire 22, the slot 28 and the end portions 29 being eliminated, whereby the streamer may slide longitudinally along the wire 22.

The embodiment illustrated in Figs. 8-10 includes a plug body 30 of wood or the like provided with means 3| at one end for reception of a snap swivel I3 or a fishing line I4. The body 30 is provided with a series of recesses or pockets 38 of the form illustrated in Fig. 9 shaped to accommodate a three gang hook I6e. Hook eyes 32 are secured to the body 30- in any desired manner at the relatively shallow ends of the recesses 38, the other end of the recesses being of sufficient width Ends 29 of the wire'project laterally with.

and depth to receive the hooks I8e in the manner shown wherein the hooks are wholly disposed withinthe exterior surfaces of the body. A metal member: He conforming in shape to each recess is introduced therein as shown in Fig. 9 and is permanently in a position as by the hook eyes 3 2'. Resilient tongues I9e are formed in the mem ber I2'e to resiliently engage the hooks lBe as they are. pressed. downwardly into the recess, and to retain the hooks in this position until extracted.

The arrangement in Fig. 10 is substantially the same as that shown in Figs. 8 and 9, except that the gang hook I6 is a double hook instead of a treble hook. In this modification it is not essential. thatv the. entire. hook portion lie within the external surfaces of the plug 30 and may, if desired, project upwardly a short, distance beyond the plugbody tofacilitate;extraction of the hooks. If desired, themember I2e and the corresponding. recess 38imay. be shaped to receive only one hook of treble'gang hooks, the other two hooks lying. near thesurface of the body 30, but preferably within the plane on its exterior surface.

Conventional accessories such as strips of pork rind or rubber maybe employed, if desired, as by attachment to the hooks. Better results will, however, be obtained bypassing the crimped portions 25'of the wire 22 through the pork rind, thus allowing the strip-to extend rearwardly along the spoon. The snap I3 may also be employed to attach the rind.

From the foregoing it is believed that the construction, operation and several advantages of my lure and hook guard will be readily understood-and it is apparent various changes may be made in the details herein disclosed without departing from my invention defined in the appended claim.

Iclaim:

A fishing lure comprising a spoon of sheet material having line securing means at one end and hook securing means at the opposite end, a double gang hook pivotally secured on the latter means, said hook having resilient curved hook ends provided with barbs, said spoon having struck-out portions intermediate the ends of the spoon and on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis thereof, the opening in the struck-out portions facing each other and being a distance from the second means corresponding substantially to the distance from the barbed portion of the hook to the secondv means whereby the barbed portions may be sprung manually for insertion beneath the struck-out portions and may be sprung manually to release the same from the struck-out portions.

WILLIAM H. RICKARD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 378,678 Harlow Feb. 28, 1888 813,718 Knowles Feb. 27, 1906 1,232,804 Jamison July 10, 1917 2,124,822 Johnson July 26, 1938 2,163,378 Horvath June 20, 1939 2,215,908 Lauby Sept. 24, 1940 2,375,290 Docteur May 8, 1945 2,392,677 Lauby Jan. 8, 1946 2,476,485 Erickson et al July 19, 1949 2,477,488 Larson July 26, 1949 2,503,369 Wycech Apr. 11, 1950 

